Waivers help schools while students pay price

Back in 2005, Indianapolis Public Schools, with the state's blessing, claimed a high school graduation rate of more than 90 percent.

The official number was a sham.

In an investigation of this city's and state's staggering rates of high school dropouts, The Star Editorial Board, with the assistance of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, found that IPS' graduation rate in fact had been a horrific 35 percent in 2004.

Later, under a new state law, IPS and other districts finally began to report more accurate numbers. The district's official rate fell below 50 percent initially but has steadily climbed in the years since. IPS reported a graduation rate of 64.6 percent in 2011.

But, as Star reporter Scott Elliott documented Sunday, the percentage of IPS students who receive diplomas only because of graduation waivers also has risen rapidly.

In 2009, 19.7 percent of IPS graduates received waivers, which are given in lieu of passing required math and English exams.

By 2011, that figure had climbed to 26.7 percent. By comparison, only 8 percent of graduates elsewhere in the state received waivers.

And without the benefit of those waivers, IPS' graduation rate would tumble below 50 percent once again.

The issue, however, is much larger than nailing down accurate graduation rates for school districts. It's about whether students who receive a diploma are truly prepared for the rigors of higher education or work life.

End-of-course exams in Algebra I and English are designed to test whether students have the minimal math and language skills needed to prosper after high school. Waivers were originally intended to be given in rare exceptions - for students who suffered from extreme test anxiety, for example.

But in too many instances they've become a way around the state's academic standards. Although IPS has the highest rate of waiver use, several other districts in the state, and some in Marion County, make frequent use of the exception to normal graduation requirements.

Who gains from that academic end run? Arguably, it's the schools, which get to pad their graduation rates, that gain the most from the excessive use of waivers.

Who loses? It's the students. Yes, they get a diploma and can graduate with their peers, but both are short-term gains when compared with the long-term challenge of trying to succeed in college courses or land and keep a decent job.

State Rep. Robert Behning, a Republican from Indianapolis who chairs the House Education Committee, has promised to push for tighter rules on the use of waivers during next year's legislative session.

That move should gain bipartisan support - not from any desire to keep students from receiving diplomas but out of the need to ensure that graduates really are academically prepared for what the future holds.

Although waivers may be warranted under special and unique circumstances, it's clear that schools have found and exploited a loophole in existing law. The General Assembly needs to close it.

- The Indianapolis Star

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Waivers help schools while students pay price

Back in 2005, Indianapolis Public Schools, with the state's blessing, claimed a high school graduation rate of more than 90 percent. The official number was a sham.